Abraham, Edmund Spencer

1974 - Attended the public schools in East Lansing and graduated from Michigan State University.

1978 - Received J.D. degree from Harvard Law School. While at Harvard Law School, Abraham founded the official journal of the Federalist Society, the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.

1983-1989 - Admitted to the District of Columbia and Michigan bars. Became chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.

1990 - He was deputy chief of staff for Vice President Dan Quayle.

1991 - He later served as co-chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) for 2 years.

1995-2001 - Abraham represented Michigan in the United States Senate for six years, as the only Arab American in that chamber. He served on the Budget, Commerce, Science and Transportation, Judiciary, and Small Business Committees. He also chaired two subcommittees: Manufacturing and Competitiveness, and Immigration. Abraham authored the "H1B Visa in Global and National Commerce Act", establishing a federal framework for on-line contracts and signatures; the "Government Paperwork Elimination Act", and the "Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act", which protects Internet domain names for businesses and persons against copyright and trademark infringements. He was defeated for reelection to the Senate in 2000 for a second term by Debbie Stabenow.

2004-2005 - Abraham was given the position of Secretary of Energy by the incoming Bush administration, a post he stayed at for the first Bush term. On November 15, 2004, Abraham announced that he would resign from the position of Secretary of Energy, which took effect with the swearing in of his successor Samuel W. Bodman on February 1, 2005. On February 14, 2005 The Toronto Star reported that Abraham was on a short list of candidates for American ambassador to Canada to replace Paul Cellucci. In July 2005, Abraham's wife, Jane, announced that after some consideration she would not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate to challenge Debbie Stabenow. Michigan Republicans had attempted to recruit Mrs. Abraham to run against the first-term Stabenow, who had defeated her husband in 2000. Abraham is now a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an influential conservative think tank based at Stanford University.